Her name sounds good even before you learn more about her: Letizia Battaglia. Browsing over pages about her, I learned that Letizia signified Happiness. Happiness in battle really sticks to the character, to this woman who dedicated her life to battling against “la Cosa Nostra”, otherwise called the Mafia, and, through photography, denounced and revealed their crimes to the world, despite the fear, the dread which became part of her daily life.
It is as a woman and a photographer that her work and her commitment left a lasting impression on the destiny of one city, Palermo, from one island, Sicily. Her commitment goes beyond merely documenting the “octopus” for her paper. She was a city councillor, a member of the regional parliament, voted for laws against the Mafia’s control over the city of Palermo. She extended her efforts to women and the most helpless, who mobilized to break up the omertà.
Letizia Battaglia’s photographs have the strength of anger and the warmth of love for Sicilians. They aren’t only testimonies; their graphic strength immerses us in a universe that sometimes seems unreal, yet so familiar, so close to the people. That is where Letizia’s secret hides, her empathy for others, whether they be good, bad, or ugly. Her approach remains the same in these troubled times, giving us reasons to hope.
To this day, Letizia Battaglia revisits her photographs in surprising compositions, like returning to a painful past, like rewriting the present. Photography as testimony to our suffering, our vagrancy, but also to our humanity.
Jacques Sierpinski, Festival Artistic Director
Festival ManifestO
From September 16 to October 1, 2016
Toulouse, France
http://www.festival-manifesto.org/
